The No. 28 Virginia men's tennis team will face No. 55 Virginia Tech in Blacksburg this afternoon in its last match before conference play begins Saturday. The Cavaliers are 5-0 going into the match.
Despite Virginia's apparent rankings-based advantage, the Cavaliers do not underestimate the Hokies, given their recent performance in the series. The Cavaliers have fallen to Virginia Tech the past five years.
Last year, Virginia lost 4-3 after taking the doubles point but only winning two of the six singles matches. The match marked the end of the regular season and was the Cavaliers' third consecutive loss.
"The guys are much hungrier now," Virginia coach Brian Boland said. "They don't want to go through what we went through last year. It will be a definite challenge, that's for sure."
Tech, currently 3-1, is coming off a strong 5-2 victory over N.C. State Sunday. Since the Cavaliers will face the Wolfpack in their first ACC match on Saturday, their performance against the Hokies may be an important indicator of how Virginia will fare in their first ACC match.
The Cavaliers also have a personal desire to defeat their in-state rival.
"We're definitely going to get up for Virginia Tech," sophomore Rylan Rizza said. "They're a huge rival and we had no business losing to them last year."
Rizza teamed with Nick Meythaler to win in doubles against the Hokies last year, but lost to Saber Kadiri (7-5, 7-6) at No. 3 singles.
Rizza, who returns to the No. 3 spot this season, sees both positive and negative aspects of having a starting line-up that includes five sophomores and a freshman.
"Being young hurt us a little last year," Rizza said. "But now we know what to expect. We have a year under our belt so we're getting more experience."
Incidentally, Virginia's only freshman starter may be an important factor on the road to victory today. Marko Miklo was one of the top players in Europe in high school and has been very successful in his first few matches at Virginia.
Miklo is a "great kid and a great competitor who comes ready to play everyday with a very professional attitude," Boland said. "He's only 19 but he's far beyond that in terms of his professionalism and maturity."
Miklo, who usually plays at No. 4 singles, played an important role in the Cavaliers' season-opening victory against No. 15 Minnesota. By prevailing in the deciding match, Miklo clinched the victory over the highest ranked opponent Virginia has ever defeated.
Sophomore Stephen Rozek also has emerged as a key player on the team, starting at the No. 2 singles spot after receiving minimal playing time last year. He has earned praise from his coach and teammates for vast improvements in the offseason.
"Sometimes I think I am speechless when I talk about Rozek," Boland said. "It's hard to think of another kid who has improved so much in a year's time. He just took off."
Rozek and the Cavaliers will begin play at 4 p.m. today at the Burrows/Burleson Tennis Center in Blacksburg.
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